


Harry's 39th Birthday (Trio Time)

by lostonplatform934



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Canon Compliant, Diagon Alley, Domestic Fluff, Emotions, F/M, Fluff, Harry Potter Next Generation, Harry Potter is a Good Parent, Harry Potter loves Ginny Potter, Harry Potter loves his friends, Harry Potter loves his kids, Harry Potter's Birthday, Harry potter is happy, Hinny, Implied Birthday Sex, Minister for Magic Hermione Granger, No Plot/Plotless, Nostalgia, One Shot, Post-Hogwarts, Quidditch, Slice of Life, Some angst, The Golden Trio, happy birthday harry potter, romione, sentimental Harry Pottter, trio time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 05:16:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20058622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostonplatform934/pseuds/lostonplatform934
Summary: Harry Potter enjoys a moment alone on his busy birthday until his best friends join him.





	Harry's 39th Birthday (Trio Time)

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write something for Harry's 39th birthday, but didn't have any good ideas, so I threw this together. I hope you enjoy.

The laughter and shouts from inside the house floated out to the porch where Harry sat sipping a pint, one leg resting lazily on a rickety table. He had been banished from the house while his family, presumably, gathered his birthday cake together. 

It was taking longer than Harry had anticipated for them to light a few candles. But he was 39 now and it would be just like Ginny to remind him of that fact with the exact number on his cake. 

Still, Harry enjoyed the peace of the light summer breeze, the sounds of their owls hooting and hunting in the darkness. 

It had been both a hectic and pleasant birthday. The morning had started with Lily barging into his and Ginny’s bedroom (unknowingly interrupting a particularly pleasurable gift from his wife that he really wished could have stayed uninterrupted) to wish him a happy birthday. Kreacher then whipped up a breakfast feast before the family went to Diagon Alley for back-to-school shopping with the Granger-Weasleys. Lily’s Hogwarts letter had arrived the week before, and Harry’s birthday was the soonest time the whole family could make the trip. Ginny had to cover a match the previous weekend, while Harry was planning to work the coming weekend. He had taken his birthday off, as well as several days for Ginny and James’ upcoming birthdays, but still had a lot of work to get done. 

Molly and Arthur tagged along to see their youngest grandchildren (Lily and Hugo) pick out their school things and wish Harry a happy birthday. Molly was particularly weepy throughout the whole thing, but Harry, too, had to hold back tears seeing his little daughter pick out her wand. He couldn’t believe his baby was starting Hogwarts, nor that Albus was old enough for Hogsmeade trips or that James would be Quidditch captain in his O.W.L. year. 

He especially couldn’t believe his eldest was that old when he nearly blew up the backroom of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes during a failed experiment with Fred and Roxanne. Maturity wasn’t James’ strong suit. 

For a moment, Harry recalled his 15th birthday and the hunger and loneliness that had come with the wilty salad that had been his birthday dinner, while the sweets his friends had mailed him sat ruined in the trash. He was so glad James had the freedom to almost explode store rooms. 

Afterward, they stopped into the Leaky Cauldron to say hi to Hannah and Neville. Harry and Ron had to refrain from laughing out loud at the professor trying to hide his lingering hangover from his students. The adults had gotten back late the night before from a pub crawl for the professor’s birthday. 

Back at home, the kids scattered their new belongings throughout the house. Before Harry and Ginny could tell them to put everything away, Teddy, Victoire and the Weasley-Granger clan arrived. They enjoyed a scrumptious picnic dinner that Kreacher had outdone himself for. 

The day ended with a Weasley vs. Potter Quidditch match. Hermione watched from the sidelines (usually cheering both teams to everyone’s chagrin), while Ginny played for the Weasley side to even out the teams. It was a rough match because with James playing seeker and Teddy, Albus and Lily as chasers, Harry was left as keeper. And Ginny did not go easy on him for his birthday. James beat Victoire easily to the snitch, but the points hadn’t been enough to make up for the ones Harry had let in. Ginny, Ron and the kids spent a good 20 minutes ribbing him for this before sending him to the porch, with the lame excuse that he had to think over his poor performance alone. 

“Hey, mate.” 

Harry turned as Ron punched Harry’s shoulder a little more roughly than necessary. Harry whacked him back playfully before gratefully accepting the second pint Ron handed him. Only the dregs of his first one were left. 

“Cheers,” he said, knocking glasses with Ron. The two drank silently for a moment, Harry chuckling when he heard his daughter shriek, “No, not there!” 

“Ginny sent me out here to keep you company. Lils is getting a little overboard on the decorations,” Ron explained, 

Harry snorted. 

“‘Course she is.” 

They were quiet again, simply enjoying each other’s presence. That was the nice thing about his friendship with Ron. They didn’t need to fill the space with mindless chatter. 

“It’s gonna be weird without them,” Harry said finally. 

He meant the kids. For the last 15 years (longer really, when he considered Teddy), his life had been consumed with taking care of his children, preventing them from getting into too much mischief, ensuring they were safe, happy and healthy. He and Ginny used to fantasize about what they would do when all the kids were off at Hogwarts, when the house was quiet and they could walk around without tripping over a broom or a joke product.

Then, one after one, they had all gone off to school, leaving the house more and more lifeless in its emptiness. And in just a few short weeks, his precious little girl--who was somehow cheekier than her brothers and parents combined, while still having the sweetest heart--would be gone, too. 

He was dreading Sept. 1. Being on this side of his birthday made it seem so much closer. 

It brought him back to how he felt on his 18th birthday, sitting with Ron, the two of them watching Hermione and Ginny in a corner of the Weasleys’ yard. Harry was pretty certain he knew what had the girls so giggly, but he wasn’t about to fill Ron in on that. Not when all Harry could think about was Ginny’s soft expression as she had lied on his chest earlier that day. He had realized he had been completely thick to think he could last months without her while she was at Hogwarts. 

He still wasn’t sure how he had managed it. 

“Yeah,” Ron sighed, bringing Harry back to the present. Harry looked over at his friend to see him rubbing his face, looking thoroughly miserable. “It’s going to be bloody awful.” 

A wave of guilt washed over Harry. He knew his friend had been stressed and lonely ever since Hermione became minister, but Ron was trying to bury those feelings in the name of being supportive of his wife. Without the kids to worry about, Harry feared Hermione would throw herself deeper into work and Ron would feel bored and abandoned. 

Harry gripped Ron on the shoulder. 

“We’ll make it through,” Harry assured him firmly. It’s what Ron had said the night of Harry’s 18th birthday, when Harry expressed his anxieties about separating from Ginny and Hermione. _ Somehow, barely_, Ron had added then. “We always do.” 

Ron grimaced at him. 

“Thanks, mate.” 

Harry squeezed his friend’s shoulder again and then the two turned back to their drinks. 

“You lot are quiet.” 

Harry and Ron’s heads whipped around and grinned in unison at the sight of Hermione standing in the doorway. 

“‘Mione,” Ron hummed. Harry smirked into his drink at Ron’s besotted expression. 

“They ready for me yet?” Harry asked as Hermione stepped onto the porch, closing the screen door behind her. 

“Still a work in progress,” she replied before turning to Ron. “Budge over.” 

But before Ron could attempt to make room in his chair, Hermione plopped onto his lap, curling up her legs so that they rested on the armrest. Ron kissed her hair, whispering something into her ear that made her smile before rubbing her back softly. 

Feeling like he should give them a moment, Harry made to stand up. 

“Ginny probably needs help,” he mumbled. 

Hermione grabbed his arm. 

“No, stay. She’s got it under control. She sent me out here.” 

Harry smiled. He should have known this had all been part of his wife’s plan. Ginny said it was important for him to still have “trio time,” as she called it. And Harry couldn’t remember the last time it had been just him, Ron and Hermione without the distractions of kids or in-laws. A rush of nostalgia crashed over him for the summer nights they had spent in the Weasley’s yard or the hours together in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Harry much preferred his life now over his childhood or teenage years, but it would be nice to go back to those golden times with Ron and Hermione. 

“I’ve missed you two,” Hermione whispered. 

“Hermione, we live together remember?” Ron chuckled. 

“Sometimes I think I see you too much actually,” Harry teased, recalling the five meetings he had in his sister-in-law’s office in this week alone.

“Oh, shut it,” Hermione snapped before turning softer. “You know what I mean.” 

“Yeah,” Harry and Ron agreed.

Harry knew then that he had been right. They would make it through while the kids were at Hogwarts. Because Ron and Hermione loved each other. He and Ginny loved each other. And all four of them loved each other. 

Just then, the screen door was torn open. 

“DADDY!” Lily called. “We’re ready for you.” 

“Okay, coming,” Harry replied. 

Lily darted back inside, while the trio stood up. Ron and Hermione made their way to the door, but Harry stopped them with a hand on their shoulders. 

He looked at his best friends, the two people who were the reason he had a family waiting for him to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. There was so much he wanted to say, but words wouldn’t suffice. He opened his mouth and then closed it. But he knew they would understand. 

“Thank you,” he said finally, his voice cracking slightly. 

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione cried, pulling him into a deep hug. The feel of a rougher arm across his back told him Ron had joined them. 

Harry swallowed down the memory of the three of them huddled together outside of Dumbledore’s office after the battle, holding onto each other because that was all they could do. It had seemed impossible during the war that Harry would ever reach his 18th birthday. And now, 21 years had gone by, and he had a family inside waiting for him, ready to celebrate and love him. 

When Harry walked into the kitchen, he feared he would look too melancholy, but a smile rose easily and naturally to his cheeks as soon as he was greeted with cheers of “happy birthday.” 

Harry had been right. Thirty-nine was certainly the theme. A giant cake in the shape of a lightning bolt (he was pretty sure that design had been his daughter’s idea) had 39 glittering candles. Lily confirmed the number for him, declaring there were exactly 39 mini Harry Potter figurines soaring around a broom, searching for 39 snitches swirling around the kitchen. The kids had picked out 39 different photos of their dad from different ages (but mainly ones from his adulthood where he played enthusiastically with his children) that Ginny, Teddy and Victoire had enchanted to float around the room. A giant sign hung in the kitchen with “HAPPY 39TH BIRTHDAY, DAD!” displayed in Albus’ neat handwriting. 

“Do you like it?” Lily asked excitedly. 

“I love it,” he declared, feeling teary-eyed again as he hugged each of the kids. 

Ginny sauntered up to him and kissed his cheek. 

“I made sure there was 39 of everything exactly,” she said seriously, a taunting glint in her eyes.

(“You’re so old,” she had told him that morning. “Thirty-nine. That’s almost 40. I’m only 37.” “Yeah, for 12 more days,” Harry had snorted, earning himself a pinch to the stomach.) 

“Aw, thanks,” Harry replied with a smirk. 

He kissed her a little harder than he intended, but ignored the groan from Albus and Hugo. James had a girlfriend now and had curiously damped down on his protests over his parents’ tendency to snog. 

“Thank you,” he repeated, more seriously this time. Ginny’s soft smile told him she understood, too, that she wasn’t being thanked solely for the decorations. 

After a quick chorus of “happy birthday,” Harry blew out the 39 candles, wishing to always be able to show his friends and family how much he loved them. Then, they dug into the cake, which was somehow even more delicious than everything else Kreacher had made that day. The elf was enjoying a piece at the table and happily chattering with Lily and Rose. 

Ron was eating his cake with his left hand, so he could hold Hermione’s, his thumb circling over the top of her hand. 

Hugo was pestering Albus and James with questions about Hogwarts. James answered in between attempts to sneak a puking pastille into Teddy’s cake. Teddy easily rebuffed his godbrother’s efforts, while keeping up his conversation with Victoire, one of his hands wandering higher up her thigh than Harry thought strictly appropriate for a family party. 

Harry turned to Ginny to find she was watching him watch the others. 

“Good birthday?” she asked, running a hand down his thigh to his knee and back up. 

Harry nodded, taking another bite of cake. 

“Thirty-nine,” Harry murmured when he swallowed. “Merlin, I’m old.” 

Ginny regarded him with that blazing look, the one that simultaneously made him weak in the knees and feel like he could blast down another dark wizard. 

Harry knew they were both thinking the same thing--that he wasn’t supposed to have made it this long. 

Ginny drew closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, intoxicating him with her flowery smell. 

“Thank Merlin for that,” she whispered into his lips. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling have had amazing birthdays!!! Now, I'm off to make a cake in their honor!


End file.
